pastor lawal

The merciful God we serve has His ways higher than our ways and His thoughts than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). God can use the most “unlikely people” as far as man’s judgment is concerned. It will be amazing for you to know that despite your being rejected by the people around you, God can still single you out for His purpose. Many of us pastors have stories of woes and rebellions to tell before God called us into His vineyard. A case in hand is that of Evangelist Franklin Graham who did everything possible to run away from God. His rebellion began in childhood and his parents, the great evangelist and wife, Billy Graham and Ruth, never sat Franklin down to lecture him about sin. Franklin smoked cigarettes, went on high-speed chase with the police that almost sent him to jail, got drunk of liquor, in short, Franklin did almost anything to have his own identity from being a Graham.At 22, Franklin was sick and tired of making a mess out of his life. It was in a hotel room in Jerusalem that Franklin underwent his conversion while he was reading the Bible and got to I Cor. 10:13. He went on mission trip to Korea, Indonesia, India, Singapore and Nepal and Franklin found his calling on that trip. At age 40, a prodigal has totally returned home working for the Lord.Your case maybe worse than Franklin’s but if you will only surrender to Him, He will cleanse you and use you mightily for His glory too.

Wednesday Bible StudyTopic: Expressing GratitudeAnchor Scripture: Psalm 13: 1- 6

Wednesday Bible StudyTopic: GRACEAnchor Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5: 21

Wednesday Mid-Week ServiceTopic: HeavenAnchor Scripture: Acts 1: 4-11

The foremost responsibility of parents to their children is to be there for them and teach them basic godly values. Parents should not depend on the church, school or the community to do this for their children. Charity, they say, begins at home. It is not enough for parents to send their children to top ranking schools to become doctors, lawyers, engineers and even pastors. The formative years of every child must be taken responsibly by parents to lead the children into the way of their God. What are the important godly values parents should teach their children?1.Teach them FAITH. While children should learn how to trust their parents, parents should go beyond having their children have trust in them and should point them to the Lord Almighty who cannot fail and who is the provider of all good and perfect gifts and the sustainer of those who trust in Him.2.Teach them how to PRAY. “A Family that prays together stays together”. So teach your children to follow your example in leading a life of prayer and devotion. Having a family devotion and praying before meals will go a long way.3.Teach them COMPASSION. Beyond reaching our children justice and discipline, let us teach them how to forgive and how to care for the less privileged people by forgiving them and involving them in compassion projects as feeding the poor.Other values that are equally important are teaching them how to HUNGER FOR GOD’S WORD, INTEGRITY, HUMILITY, DILIGENCE, and RESPECT.May God help us to play our roles well as parents so that God may reward us mightily too.

Wednesday Bible StudyTopic: GRACE Anchor Scriptures: Rom. 1: 1- 6, Rom 4 15 - 17, 2Cor 12: 8- 9

Wednesday Mid-Week ServiceTopic: The Christian and The Law of The LandAnchor Scripture: Romans 13: 1-7

GIRD YOUR WORDA careless word may kindle strifeA cruel word may wreck a lifeA bitter word may hate instillA brutal word may smite and killA gracious word may smooth the wayA joyous word may light the dayA timely word may lesson stressA living word may heal and bless.-Author Unknown

FORGIVENESS The teaching on forgiveness is so hard to swallow by many people who say they are believers in Christ. Yet it is one basic truth taught by Jesus Christ Himself and found in many passages of the Bible. How easy for us to claim that the Bible is the final authority to all Christian practice and to the church.The truth is, without forgiveness, there is no freedom; without forgiveness, there is no recovery and without forgiveness, there is no healing. Nursing offence can enslave both the offender and the offended. Offence can strain relationship and reconciliation maybe denied for years. In like manner, the pain and wound that offence can cause may never be healed if care is not taken.I found these interesting quotes in a book titled “Forgive and Love Again” by John Nieder and Thomas Thompson and decided to extract the ones that fascinated me.“To forgive is to turn the key, open the cell door, and let the prisoner walk free.”“To forgive is to write in large letters across a debt, ‘NOTHING OWED’.”“To forgive is to shoot an arrow so high and so farthat it can never be found again.” “To forgive is to grant a full pardon to a condemnedcriminal.”“To forgive is to smash a clay pot into a thousand pieces so it can never be pieced together again.”“To forgive is to bundle all the garbage and trash anddispose of it, leaving the house clean and fresh.”

The end of one year and the beginning of another is usually an opportunity to look back to what has been and to look forward to what can be. As much as we try not to remember our mistakes and failures and be soaked with guilts and fears, such can help us positively if we can learn a lesson or two that will make us avoid such mistakes.The beginning of another year can bring us new hope as well as new apprehensions. We must, therefore, hold on to the teachings of the Bible that say “Ask and you shall receive, Seek and you shall find and Knock and the door shall be opened unto you” (Matt 7:7).A proud man never asks for anything but the humble man will ask (not as a begger) as one who shows that no man is self-sufficient. To Seek will demand time as well as strength and energy. The best thing to Seek to do in 2016 is to please the LORD. Brethren, life is never totally peaceful, it is an ongoing process. We shall encounter changes in many areas of our lives. But God is constant. Let us yield to God completely. Trusting Him in every situation of our existence.Our theme for 2016 is “My Year of Deliberate Witnessing.” Try all you can to key in so that it will not just be a slogan. I pray that we all will Seek God’s Kingdom first and His righteousness that we may reign with Christ at the end.